original name Tayna Gorilla Reserve'. Apart from the gorilla, other primates found include the 

 chimpanzee {Pan troglodytes), the Cercopithecus hamlyni, the Cercopithecus ascanius, etc. The TNR is 

 home to a significant quantity of halieutic resources. Its watercourses, like the Tayna, host many fish 

 species yet to be identified (UGADEC, 2006). 



The surface area to be protected includes the following biotopes : 



• 1 5% ofprimary forest at low altitude 



• 32% ofprimary forest at medium altitude 



• 41 %ofhigh primary forest 



• 12% ofsurface cleared by farmers 

 (Kakule,2004). 



Ongoing research activities on the reserve's biodiversity will keep revealing its richness through the 

 ecological initiatives implemented by the Tayna Center for Conservation Biology/University for the 

 Conservation of Nature and Development in Kasugho (TCCB/UCNDK). 



The Impact of the TNR in DRC 



In 2002, in the wake of the TNR, many nature conservation associations were created. They are: Punia 

 Gorilla Reserve (RGPU), Primates and Lowa Forest Community Reserve (RECOPRIFOL), 

 Community conservation for Bakano Forest Reserve (COCREFOBA), Usala Gorilla Reserve (RGU), 

 Bakumbule Primates Community Reserve (RECOPRIBA), Utunda and Wassa Gorilla Reserve 

 (REGOUWA), Lubutu Gorilla Reserve (REGOLU). 



All these associations have agreed to cooperate under the leadership of the TNR. They formed the Union 

 of Associations for Gorilla Conservation and Community Development in Eastern DRC (UGADEC). 

 The surface area preserved by this platform constitutes an important écologie corridor between the 

 Maiko national park and the Kahuzi Biega park. UGADEC is operational in the North Kivu, South Kivu 

 and Maniema provinces, however its philosophy is gradually spreading to the Equator and Kasai 

 provinces and elsewhere. (UGADEC, 2007). 



The effectiveness of Participatory Forest Management method 



The example of the TNR in sustainable forest management using a system that safeguards wildlife is 

 based on dialogue between local populations and the direct managers of the reserve. While national 

 parks are facing conflicts with populations, the TNR is establishing itself, gaining the trust of local 

 residents who willingly accepted to give away their lands and support the project psychologically and 

 physically. Ten years after its creation, researchers who show interest in this reserve unfailingly 

 acknowledge its success against all odds. In 2006, a student named Kikere assessed, as part of his final 

 project work, the 'effectiveness of the community-based conservation strategy: Case of the Tayna 

 gorilla reserve' (Kikere, 2006). Using a questionnaire-based methodology, he concluded that the 

 sustainability of the initiative was dependent on its ability to cooperate with local populations during the 

 creation of the TNR and at the different stages of its development. He also noted that the success of the 

 reserve depends on the sustained dialogue between stakeholders (populations and TNR managers) and 

 the transparent management of the benefits of the project. This would enable the project to avoid the 

 mistake made by national parks where forceful conservation methods are used. 



The author and the TNR management have made attempts to understand this situation in detail. 

 Interviews conducted with the reserve manager, Pierre Kakule, on the one hand, and customary chiefs 

 on the other hand, revealed the following elements that possibly account for the success of the TNR. 



A harmonious creation 



From the onset, nothing was imposed on the local population who willingly welcomed the team of 

 extension agents. Agreements were concluded without any coercion and the populations accepted to 

 allocate their lands to the wildlife conservation project. 



Nature & Faune Vol. 23, Issue 1 24 



